Final touches are now being applied to Baker-Berry Library and Carson Hall, the future home of the history department and Computing Services, with full occupancy expected by the start of Fall term.
The History Department will move in during August, and Computing Services will transition some of its offices -- most significantly the Computer Sales and Services department -- from the basement of Bradley and Gerry Halls over the summer.
When finished in July, Carson will be connected directly with Berry, though access will only be allowed between Novack Caf in Berry and the ground floor of Carson.
The top three stories of Carson -- the second through fourth floors -- will be occupied by history department offices and seminar rooms.
In Carson, "we have seminar rooms, larger offices, more facilities for computers and printers," history department chair Mary Kelley said.
The second and third floors both have seminar rooms with space for 24 students on the North Main Street side of the building. Equally important to Kelley is that each of the three floors has significant office space.
The new building will also provide the department staff with a "sufficient number of offices" in contrast to the crowding experienced at the department's current home, Reed Hall.
"It's a very splendid facility for the department," Kelley said.
Computer Sales and Service will move into the first floor of Carson, and the ground floor will be occupied by computer training classrooms.
Two large amphitheater-style lecture halls occupy most of the basement level of Carson, which connects to the printing center in Berry.
Though doors will connect the other floors with Berry, moving between the buildings will not be allowed except in emergencies in order to keep the book collection secure.
Carson is being built to an exceedingly high standard, going well past what is prescribed by fire code, construction project manager Shawn Donovan said. For example, the floors will be able to support three times the normal load, and all the walls are double-layered with sheet rock drywall.
The building was also built with future technology in mind. "All of the wiring is in conduits -- a little unusual -- so we can rewire the building if we need to," Donovan said.
The associated project to fully link Baker and Berry Libraries will be finished between May and July, with the so-called "main street" between the ground floor of Baker and the second floor of Berry set to open May 6. Berry will also connect with Sanborn Library and Carpenter Hall.
Along the main street -- to the west side of the current link through the stacks -- will be the permanent home of the circulation desk. The opposite side, set to house an expanded reference area, a newspaper reading room and government documents, will be finished over the summer.
Other improvements to Baker include the replacement of exterior windows with energy-efficient windows and the installation of an air conditioning system to create a climate-controlled environment for the library collection.
Once the current phase of what Donovan called "the largest project Dartmouth has ever done" is complete, work will begin next April on the first wing of the 85,000 square-foot Kemeny Hall, the future home of the math department.
Located directly north of Carson where the Kiewit Computing Center once stood, the project will be done in the spring or summer of 2004, Donovan said. Once Kemeny is complete, Bradley and Gerry Halls will be demolished to make room for the second wing of the new building.
No decision as to the future of the building has yet been made, though Assistant Director of Facilities Planning Jack Wilson said "the plan is to reuse Reed for other humanities academic programs."
Wilson speculated that Reed might possibly be used to alleviate crowding in Dartmouth and Thornton Halls. If renovations -- including new paint and carpets -- are completed on schedule, he said, "We might be able to get them in before the start of Fall term," though he cautioned that the end of Fall term is more likely.
